July 24, 2010

This small diagram is some sort of schematic for a theater-like building. The creator (more famous for another invention of his) used this to create a very interesting experience.

The audience would be seated inside be surrounded by giant paintings on canvases. Some complex trickery with lights would be used to illuminate different parts of the paintings and the audience would ‘feel’ like they were watching a movie with changing scenes.

John Arrowsmith’s Diorama. Also credited are James Morgan as the builder and Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre who supplied some of the initial impetus (having built an earlier [original] version in Paris) and many of the paintings.
I suppose Daguerre is the name you want due to his influence on the field of photography.